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To me, a flashing red light triggers an automatic awareness that it's a bicycle, rather than anything else ahead...
From my experience driving, I follow this way of thinking...
If you see a solid red light 3 or 4 cars in front, you just assume it's another car. And often on unlit roads, that's all you can see. But if you're travelling 10X faster, you're going to be approaching very quickly, and by the time you can see the cyclist, you may only have a second or two to react, if that.
With the speed differential on the roads, a flashing light marks you out as a potential hazard, and if I see one up ahead, I immediately start assessing the conditions. Do I need to slow down? Can I overtake? Etc.
I live in a fairly rural area though. Perhaps the rules change in an urban environment?
Personally, I too, have solid and flashing at the same time. Never really experienced any issues at all with lights on bikes while driving, but I'm regularly blinded by car lights. (Not saying it doesn't happen. Just not experienced any kind of annoyance whatsoever).